PBS- Black Coffee, Part1of3 – The Irresistible Bean

The Irresistible Bean explores coffee’s origins in Ethiopia and its triumphant spread over five Continents, sparking revolution, controversy, creativity, business and slavery along the way. The episode details the first coffeehouse traditions, which began on dirt floors and eventually developed into more refined Arabic home versions, and chronicles the popularity of the Venetian latte, which developed a reputation that is seen in the Western coffee-marketing 450 years later. The Irresistible Bean also examines coffee’s role in historical events, including the French Revolution, the American Revolution and the Haitian slave rebellion.